Safety razors are well known and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. By and large, these prior art safety razor constructions all include a handle which mounts a razor head at one end of the handle. Generally, these handles are attached to or carry the razor head at a position centrally of the length of the razor head so that the razor head projects outwardly on opposite sides of the handle. Several common problems have been associated with these prior art razor constructions.
One of these problems is that it is difficult to see the skin area that is being shaved immediately ahead of the razor head during use. This has been particularly a problem in the shaving of the skin areas prior to surgery where the shaving is generally done by hospital personnel. Because the skin areas being shaved prior to surgery many times occupy sensitive body areas which are relatively complex in shape, it is extremely difficult to shave the desired skin area for surgery without unnecessarily cutting the skin area being shaved. This, of course, is highly undesirable since damage to the skin area around the point of surgery many times promotes infection and makes surgical procedures more difficult to carry out.
Another of the problems with prior art razors is that the handle construction is such that the razor is generally unstable during the shaving operation. Moreover, the handle construction is such that the user's hand becomes tired because of the unnatural gripping position required by the prior art razor construction during shaving, especially if the shaving operation requires any significant period of time. Because the prior art razor handles join with the razor head centrally thereof, it has been difficult for the user to apply the razor to the area being shaved while maintaining an evenly distributed pressure along the length of the razor blade.
Yet another problem with these prior art razors is that packaging the razors for merchandising is extremely difficult since the razors will not nest within each other to minimize the packaging problems associated therewith. This problem is even further enhanced because the shape of the razor is such that simplified packaging generally cannot be used in a merchandising program. This problem has become even more acute with the advent of disposable safety razors.
Still another problem associated with prior art razors is that they have been difficult to clean. This is especially a problem in the area where the handle joins with the razor head. Both the shaved hair and the lathering material tend to collect between the back side of the razor head and the handle and are difficult to dislodge. This not only causes the razor to be unsanitary but also blinds this portion of the blade area to reduce its shaving efficiency and retains moisture in this portion of the blade area to speed the corrosion thereof.